“Asesa Anaa” (Review of 2009)

Kow A. Essuman Esq. 1

by Kow Essuman

I apologise for the delay in bringing this review. I expected someone else to do it but no one seems to be concerned about a review as I am. So this is a review by me and not anyone else; so no one should tell me what I left out or question why I focussed on what I focussed on. Now that we have that out of the way, I don't intend to dwell on every single thing that occurred in 2009. Just the things I found to be headline material, at least in my opinion. So please feel free to comment, criticise and most important of all, ENJOY!

The highlight at the beginning of 2009 was the swearing in of our president, His Excellency Professor John Evans Atta-Mills. He emerged victorious after one of the tensest and most anxious election run-off the world of politics had ever witnessed. His campaign catch word – “Yeresesamu" – had been accepted by many including members of other political parties. The jubilation following his success was one worth sitting back and enjoying as all manner of persons kept repeating the catch word – “Yeresesamu". I wonder whether a year later if "Asesa Anaa". And if it has, is it in the direction they expected? Hold your tongues and answer after reading the entire note.

The swearing-in ceremony didn’t go as smoothly as one would have expected after such a victory. Our new president stumbled and nearly fell as he attempted to walk in the attire he had chosen to wear on this grand day. He was unable to take the oath properly even though he had a copy of the oath in his hand; and the kind Chief Justice (oh bless her soul) read it out slowly. He kept mumbling and inserting phrases which weren’t there. Many Ghanaians were infuriated by this and they were right to be infuriated. I completed agreed with such fury. The Oath of Presidency is a solemn declaration to defend the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana and as such should be taken with all seriousness. It was suggested that he should retake the oath.

Correct me if I am wrong but that never happened. Could that be the reason behind the abuse of power in his first year? I’m only asking because in some cases, the Constitution has been put aside and so has the rule of law. Anyway, we thought it was a one-off or at least hoped it was. But we were so wrong as the mumbling and insertion and/or addition of words to the English language has been repeated throughout his first year as a president. To be fair, Obama messed up his oath too but it wasn't as bad as President Mills. Yet he retook the oath so why couldn't President Mills? Further, President Mills’ acceptance speech had no particular agenda for the country. There was no outline as to how his administration intended to manage the affairs of the country for the next four years or should I say eight years. Could it be because he and the NDC had no agenda for Ghana? Maybe except an oil-related agenda. This could be the reason why there has been nothing to be proud of in his first year. Nevertheless, he revised his catch word and said, “Yeresesamu na y’ako y’anim”. Has any of this happened in the first year? Again, hold your tongues and answer after reading the entire note.

It took me a while to get familiar with the fact the Development in Freedom had been kicked out of office and that the NDC was back in power. We saw the resurrection of the 64 Infantry Battalion we thought no longer existed. For those who are not familiar with the 64 Infantry Battalion, it is the lawless section of the Ghana Armed Forces popular referred to as commandoes during the Rawlings era. Yes they were back and stormed the Castle seizing cars and halting the running of the civil service. Amongst the cars seized was the car of Nana Addo (NPP’s presidential candidate in the 2008 election).

The former president, John Kufuor, was no stranger to this humiliation. He took home six cars: three of which were bullet-proof luxury cars and the other three non-bulletproof luxury cars. They were all BMWs. He was paid a visit by the infamous “car seizers”. They left with three cars: two bullet proof vehicles and one non-bulletproof car. I have never understood why they didn’t take all six cars if they were that important or why they didn’t leave with the three bullet proof cars if it was that necessary. These people returned at a later date and further humiliated the former president saying he was holding onto government property. Government property they could have taken on their first visit. He was later given cars way below the luxury ones he enjoyed. There was also an issue with his office but I won’t go into the details.

One of President Mills’ campaign promises was to have a lean government. Not only did he appoint mediocre members of government but his government was far from lean. He put a freeze on the civil service and single-handedly suspended the ex gratia package approved by Parliament to be paid to the former president Kufuor (See Ex-Gratia - Mills' Suspension of the Package is Ultra Vires and Unconstitutional or Ex-Gratia - Mills' Suspension of the Package is Ultra Vires and Unconstitutional). I believe President Mills was under public pressure to suspend the ex gratia package. To be honest, given the economy of Ghana and the content of ex gratia package, the public outcry was justified. But with everything, there are laws regulating its implementation and suspension. Nonetheless, President Mills suspended the ex gratia and asked the newly sworn Council of State to review it. Both acts were unconstitutional though taken in good faith. (See Ex-Gratia - Mills' Suspension of the Package is Ultra Vires and Unconstitutional or Ex-Gratia - Mills' Suspension of the Package is Ultra Vires and Unconstitutional).

President Mills asked for 100 days to implement his campaign promises. One of which was to reduce fuel prices for the citizens of Ghana. This was a noteworthy promise as many electorates voted for him in the run-off elections based on this promise. As the 100 days neared, we saw the fuel prices dropped. Yeah right! In about a couple of weeks, fuel prices were up again past the price it was sold at prior to the drop. Speak of taking Ghanaians for a ride. Later in the year, fuel prices were increased again when world prices for fuel remained the same. Not only were fuel prices increased, there was a shortage of fuel in the country for some time. Also, in the first 100 days, the Budget was read during which the word “ECOMINI” was invented. The President also made it known to Parliament and Madam Speaker that it was difficult to translate the millions into “OPIPIPIIPIIPI”.

2009 saw the “Cobwebs in my Head” beef between Ato Kwamena Dadzie and Koku Anyidoho. There was also unrest in the NDC camp between the Ahwois and Dr. Ekwow Spio Garbrah. Rawlings never hesitated to criticise Mills on how he slow he was in dealing with issues. NPP had its problems as well. Everyone came out with their theory as to why the Elephant was chased into the bush. I had to use that phrase. There have been further divisions within the party: the Kufuor faction and the Nana Addo faction. Thankfully, former president Kufuor stated that he didn’t have any faction and was hoping that the party could move forward in unity. There were proposals to revise the NPP constitution and to limit the number of presidential candidate nominees. Dr. Arthur Kennedy wrote a number of articles and published a book – “Chasing the Elephant into the Bush” – highlighting why the NPP lost and suggesting ways they could win in 2012. Boy did he get a telling off from his party members. The Asantehene celebrated a decade on the throne and invited former heads of state including the former president Jerry John Rawlings. The ceremony was grand with the golden stool being carried around the streets of Kumasi.

Welcome to Ghana, Barack Obama. His first trip to sub-Saharan Africa was to Ghana and not his father’s land Kenya. Why? President Obama wanted to highlight Ghana’s young democracy. And he did. It was beautiful to see all the former presidents (Rawlings and Kufuor) together with Obama and Mills. In the build up to Obama’s arrival, all most of us prayed for, was that President Mills would not mess up Obama’s name and refer to him as President Omama or even Osama. In an interview with VOA, he slipped up and referred to President Obama as President Omama. (Clip available here: Mills Blunders - "Omama, Confinent, Sacred Obrigation, Abilitiluu"). In my opinion, the entire visit was beautiful and contrary to popular criticism, I think it was well organized. His visit gave former president Rawlings the opportunity to rant about what was on his mind. He kept repeating that Kufuor rigged the 2004 election and attempted to rig the 2008 one but was warned by Nigerian generals against rigging the 2008 elections. I leave that to you to judge.

The Attorney-General, Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, too had her share of defeats in 2009. Open-shut cases any lawyer would have been able to determine were frivolous, she didn’t. Instead, she ran to court every single time hoping to score political points forgetting that her legal reputation was being dragged into mud. In fact, I am confident of standing up in court against her. A bit corky but true. The seizure of a passport without a court order was against the freedom of movement of a citizen of Ghana. Asabee was prevented on two occasions from taking a vacation with his family. Details of circumstances surrounding his arrest and detention can be read here: Issues Surrounding the Arrest and Detention of Asabee by the BNI or Issues Surrounding the Arrest and Detention of Asabee by the BNI.

Rawlings never hesitated to refer to the Kufuor administration as the most corrupt administration ever. His favourite words were “Probity and Accountability”. And then Mabey and Johnson hit, naming members of his administration in one of the most corrupt scandals ever. Honourably, those involved who were also members of the Mills administration, resigned. Speaking of corruption, not too long into the Mills administration did the Muntaka scandal surface. He was forced to resign and cried that his party neglected him at a time when he needed them. I wonder why he thought they would stand by him. It’s NDC – zero tolerance for corruption.

On the “ecomini” front, I mean, the economy front, there has been worse and no good. Ghana's stock exchange went from the best to the worst according to Bloomberg. At present the GH Cedi is approximately 1.45 US Dollars. Remember the GH Cedi was greater than the US Dollar at some point and during the time of the election the exchange rate was 1 GH Cedi = 1.1 US Dollar. I don't intend to go into the fine details of the economy but I urge you to ask the ordinary Ghanaian who voted if things are better or worse or the same. If the answer is not the first option i.e. better, then President Mills and the NDC deceived Ghanaians in their quest for power. Can we trust them with the oil money?

As the year drew to an end, the Ghana @ 50 Probe Committee published its report. It indicated that some former government officials could be prosecuted but emphasized that prosecution was not the objective of the Committee. The Committee hoped that the same mistakes will not be repeated by subsequent government officials. The Attorney-General had a different view to the report. She came out to say 2010 will witness the aggressive prosecution of the named former government officials in the report. My first reaction was: is this woman serious? With all the other criminal activities going on the country, which are of interest to the public and the general safety of Ghanaians, she is concerned about prosecuting former government officials connected with the Ghana @ 50 celebrations.

Has she quickly forgotten her significant losses in court in 2009? Maybe Amina Rawlings should be Attorney-General. (Congratulations to her on getting called to the Ghana Bar in October 2009). I’ll have some faith in her as a fellow Lincoln’s Inn barrister and at least, I know her Very Competent grade from Bar School in England puts her in a better position to serve Ghana’s interest when it comes to deciding which cases to take to court. The current Attorney-General seems to have forgotten court procedures and evidence. The report is nothing but hearsay. It holds no weight in a court of law though it is a persuasive document. She should get her priorities right or be replaced by Amina. I applaud the Minister for Information for getting with the times. She got herself a facebook account so she could be accessed and also keep internet users abreast with what her government has to offer. I wonder why she hasn’t accepted my friend request since she joined. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa also did well in informing the public whenever an issue arose. His recent assignment, “the corrupting hampers” which were intended gifts for the President. I must say President Mills took a bold step in rejecting the hampers and a bolder step in citing the reason for rejecting them as corruption. Many people have had their opinions about that so I reserve mine.

In the very last days, we lost Uncle Dan a.k.a. “Domestication” – May his soul rest in peace as his contribution to Ghanaian politics will be forever remembered. In 2010, I pray for good health for President Mills. This is particularly important because his job is a very stressful one. Making sure members of his administration are in tune with his agenda (if there is indeed one) for Ghana is no easy task. I pray God gives him the wisdom to carry out all the promises he has for Ghana. I encourage him to remain open to ideas, listen to good counsel and take the right decisions to put Ghana on the right track. I implore him to put the interest of Ghana ahead of his own interest and/or the interest of his party or even specific members of his party.

He should reduce the number of committees set up for every single thing because 2009 saw a record number of committees for any and everything. It appeared the committees were set up to run the bill of the country up through breakfasts, lunches and dinners. We could have done without many of them. Finally, the BNI should stick to their constitutional duties such as preventing Nigerians on “no-fly” lists from buying tickets in Accra rather than harassing civilians on a daily basis.

I think these are the most important things that happened in 2009. Again, I reiterate that it is my opinion; so don’t accuse me of deliberately ignoring a headline or purposely including a headline. Now you have a chance to answer the question I have been posing all throughout this review. Has “Yeresesamu” translated to “Asesa Anaa”? If it has, was it as you (or the ordinary Ghanaian) expected. Be honest with yourself. All the best in the New Year and I hope 2010’s review will have more positive news than this. God bless you and God bless Ghana!

Written and Edited by:

Kow A. Essuman Esq.

LL.B. Hons (Westminster), PgDip (BPP), LL.M. (Cornell)

Barrister-at-Law (Lincoln's Inn)

Attorney and Counselor-at-Law (New York)

All comments, corrections and contributions should be sent to [email protected].

This review is based on the thoughts, observations and opinions of Kow A. Essuman Esq. Any attempt to reproduce all or any part of this article without the express permission of the above named person shall be an infringement of intellectual property laws; following which the author reserves the right to commence an action/suit against any such person(s) or body for breach of copyright and/or any other action/suit the author sees fit.